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Let It Bang: A Young Black Man’s Reluctant Odyssey into Guns
The quest, funny and searing, of a young black man learning to shoot—a fascinating odyssey into race, guns, and self-protection in America.
The most RJ Young knew about guns was that they could get him killed. Until recently married to a white woman and in desperate need of a way to relate to his gun-loving father-in-law, Young does the unimaginable: he accepts Charles’s gift of a Glock.
Despite, or because of, the racial rage and fear he experiences among white gun owners (“Ain’t you supposed to be shooting a basketball?”), Young determines to get good, really good, with a gun. Let It Bang is the compelling story of the author’s unexpected obsession—he eventually becomes an NRA-certified pistol instructor—and of his deep dive into the heart of America's gun culture: what he sees as the domino effect of white fear, white violence, black fear, rinse, repeat. Young’s original reporting on shadow industries like US Law Shield, which insures and defends people who report having shot someone in self-defense, and on the newly formed National African American Gun Association, gives powerful insight into the dynamic. Through indelible profiles, Young brings us up to the current rocketing rise in gun ownership among black Americans, most notably women.
Let It Bang is an utterly original look at American gun culture from the inside, and from the other side—and, most movingly, the story of a young black man's hard-won nonviolent path to self-protection.
The most RJ Young knew about guns was that they could get him killed. Until recently married to a white woman and in desperate need of a way to relate to his gun-loving father-in-law, Young does the unimaginable: he accepts Charles’s gift of a Glock.
Despite, or because of, the racial rage and fear he experiences among white gun owners (“Ain’t you supposed to be shooting a basketball?”), Young determines to get good, really good, with a gun. Let It Bang is the compelling story of the author’s unexpected obsession—he eventually becomes an NRA-certified pistol instructor—and of his deep dive into the heart of America's gun culture: what he sees as the domino effect of white fear, white violence, black fear, rinse, repeat. Young’s original reporting on shadow industries like US Law Shield, which insures and defends people who report having shot someone in self-defense, and on the newly formed National African American Gun Association, gives powerful insight into the dynamic. Through indelible profiles, Young brings us up to the current rocketing rise in gun ownership among black Americans, most notably women.
Let It Bang is an utterly original look at American gun culture from the inside, and from the other side—and, most movingly, the story of a young black man's hard-won nonviolent path to self-protection.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published October 23, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
October 26, 2018
Let It Bang did not misfire.
July 21, 2023
Interesting read. Learned a lot.
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June 28, 2020
What an incredible, overlooked gem! I listened to this on audiobook and it was narrated by the author, R.J., who did a fantastic job. His voice and sense of humor reminded me a lot of Aziz Ansari, and he was an absolute pleasure to listen to. (Best believe I will literally devour anything else he puts out!)
R.J. is a young, college-educated Black man living in Oklahoma, married to a white woman whose family is very conservative. In an attempt to get to know his father-in-law and gain a better understanding of gun culture, he buys a Glock and learns how to shoot it over the course of the book.
As someone who knows next to nothing about guns (other than the fact that they're dangerous weapons meant kill people) and has little to no interest in them, I found R.J.'s fish-out-of-water exploration both insightful and intriguing. In a lot of instances, his perceptions mirrored mine almost exactly, and it was a comfort to know I'm not the only Black person who's fearful and avoidant of guns. As R.J. so insightfully puts it, guns symbolize something entirely different to white Americans than they do to Black Americans: protection vs. death.
I feel like I learned so much while following R.J.'s journey. Here's just a small sample:
- Davy Crockett was a flaming racist and "the original redneck"
- Black women are the fastest-growing demographic for open-carry permits
- "the Black NRA" exists and is called the National African American Gun Association (NAAGA)
- hollow-point bullets are a type of bullet that expands upon impact with flesh, causing more damage and making them more more lethal. notably, this is the same type of bullet George Zimmerman used to shoot and kill Trayvon Martin.
R.J. is a young, college-educated Black man living in Oklahoma, married to a white woman whose family is very conservative. In an attempt to get to know his father-in-law and gain a better understanding of gun culture, he buys a Glock and learns how to shoot it over the course of the book.
As someone who knows next to nothing about guns (other than the fact that they're dangerous weapons meant kill people) and has little to no interest in them, I found R.J.'s fish-out-of-water exploration both insightful and intriguing. In a lot of instances, his perceptions mirrored mine almost exactly, and it was a comfort to know I'm not the only Black person who's fearful and avoidant of guns. As R.J. so insightfully puts it, guns symbolize something entirely different to white Americans than they do to Black Americans: protection vs. death.
I feel like I learned so much while following R.J.'s journey. Here's just a small sample:
- Davy Crockett was a flaming racist and "the original redneck"
- Black women are the fastest-growing demographic for open-carry permits
- "the Black NRA" exists and is called the National African American Gun Association (NAAGA)
- hollow-point bullets are a type of bullet that expands upon impact with flesh, causing more damage and making them more more lethal. notably, this is the same type of bullet George Zimmerman used to shoot and kill Trayvon Martin.
November 5, 2018
Personal, reflective, and brutally honest. In 161 brisk pages, RJ Young confronts racism, family, and social norms, framed against the backdrop of America's gun culture. Read it, you won't be disappointed -- and you just might learn something.
November 5, 2018
Interesting and enjoyable book. It was at its strongest when RJ related his experiences with his in-laws and his “fish out of water” moments at the gun range/gun show. What made it interesting was that his motivation for understanding gun culture was driven primarily by the desire to connect with his future father-in-law and his girlfriend’s family. Several surprising revelations and encounters there; especially the love and support Charles showed once his tough exterior was cracked.
January 10, 2019
This is one of those books that handed so much over to me that it's taken quite a number of days for me to get close to writing a review, much less sorting everything out. His story does not surprise--he tells of the racism of gun culture, the challenges of belonging while married to a white woman, how politics can destroy relationships, the pain of being estranged from one's parents. And yet...and yet. All of these sharply painful things, and what I walk away with asking is: Who is the Second Amendment for....and why should only one type of person be the dominant expression of that right? Do I want the people I most fear to be the only ones who most conceal and carry in this country? How much damage do liberals do to themselves by saying a hard NO to learning about guns, much less getting certified? Time to get an education.
July 27, 2023
A challenging read, as far as topic goes: one man exercises his constitutional right, which ostensibly belongs to every citizen; in the process, he navigates questions of ethnicity, race, culture, prejudice, law, faith, marriage, and in-laws.
The chapter on legalities was somewhat wanting of a straightforward, Andrew Branca-style law discussion; conversely, the chapter also detailed a basic understanding that is likely common.
Some of the overall argument was more emotion than factual, but that’s to be expected; we humans are emotional beings.
Some of the foreshadowing got a little heavy handed toward the end, but that was minor.
A quick read where it felt like I walked with the author through a decade of his life. Highly recommended.
The chapter on legalities was somewhat wanting of a straightforward, Andrew Branca-style law discussion; conversely, the chapter also detailed a basic understanding that is likely common.
Some of the overall argument was more emotion than factual, but that’s to be expected; we humans are emotional beings.
Some of the foreshadowing got a little heavy handed toward the end, but that was minor.
A quick read where it felt like I walked with the author through a decade of his life. Highly recommended.
July 7, 2019
R.J., if you see this, just know that I have learned from you, both the times we’ve hung out in person, things Dr. Amber Coyle McConnell has shared, and from your book.
Thank you for sharing. I do try to be that voice and will continue to learn.
Thank you for sharing. I do try to be that voice and will continue to learn.
March 19, 2023
One thing I've noticed on the paths of both on the interwebs and off is how unwilling folks are to demonstrate that both they and others are constantly developing as human beings. There's certainly the whole 'no politics or religion' at the dinner table that's at play, but of late, the abominably disgusting appropriation of the word 'woke' by the white masses has extended that playbook of forbidden topics to anything that even hints at diversity, compassion, and equity. Couple that to my ongoing odyssey of rising above my Whiteness in order to factor the full mass of kyriarchy into my judgments, and you have a desperate need for conversations about difficult topics that aren't likely to be supplied by what pops up on the NYT Bestseller lists and subsequently makes its way into the public libraries. So when I came across this book, it seemed almost too good to be true that a Black man living in the US, aka someone who has the hugest stakes in the game when it comes to a question of guns and government oversight, was willing to take a hard look at the history and the present situation, from the Black Panthers investing in self defense to the mass shooters promoting white supremacy. Now that I've read it, it's not a manifesto or even a collection of research that is going to hold up all that well ten years on when it comes to its plethora of web links in the sources cited. What it is, though, is an honest look at what it means to live in the time of being hunted in a country whose only issue with violence comes when it's not the status quo dealing it out, and that sort of work in this day and age is worth its weight in gold.
The US is very good at forgetting its past so as to control the present and starve the future. As such, if you're going to look at a topic with even a hint of contention to it, such as "illegal" immigration, abortion, and gun control, relying on any US English single source that proclaims itself to be 'well researched' and 'objective' is the easiest way to have no idea what the fuck you're on about. So, when I was getting into this work, I hoped that Young had come across the histories of Black folks arming themselves post WWII, as well as had engaged with the parts of his present day community that saw the likes of George Zimmerman as evidence that no one was coming to save them, so it was best to prepare themselves accordingly. Young did all that and more, and after finishing this, I'd say that this is the single most candid thinkpiece focusing on an extremely controversial topic that actually managed to go the 'both sides' route without once devolving into unfeeling sophistry or bad faith selfishness. I'd even go so far as to recommend this to anyone who wants to get into the whole gun topic but doesn't know where to go or whom to risk pissing off first, as this book is short yet hard hitting enough to be worth one's time and was published recently enough to still be extremely relevant. It's not the book that's going to tell you the solution to school shootings, but it will give you incredible insight into the modern day matter, especially if you're white and thus are largely immune from being hunted in this homeland of mine for sport. Cause until you understand the true stakes of that, you're just going to be another useless tweet calling for prayers when the next massacre comes around.
This weekend is the one I aimed to get my life back on track during after a shitstorm of power outages and other sources of monumental stress, and finally getting this review out is part and parcel of that. Unfortunately, my reading journey as taken me to a juncture between at least three nonfiction pieces dealing with heavy topics (Holocaust denial and the Cultural Revolution being the other two), which along with the exigencies of real life hasn't boded well for my ability to compartmentalize. Still, it's worth noting that I haven't felt the slightest desire to downgrade my rating for this, as every time I come back to the task of reviewing my feelings of it, I remember how much I understood without belittling and how often I learned without double-thinking, and in this day and age, it's almost impossible to do so while AI is allowed to destroy our cultural faculties and warmongering is printed on every other news publication. What's left to do, then, is to keep piecing it together, keep talking to people, keep moving towards a place where those who would otherwise be murderously radicalized have a place to sleep and a healthline to hang on to, until the topic of guns isn't framed as us versus them, but us verses us. Sure, it's not as shiny as some gun control legislation shoved through the government pipeline. But in the age of 3D printed Glocks, you can't tell me that it's futile to focus on the human part of the equation.
The US is very good at forgetting its past so as to control the present and starve the future. As such, if you're going to look at a topic with even a hint of contention to it, such as "illegal" immigration, abortion, and gun control, relying on any US English single source that proclaims itself to be 'well researched' and 'objective' is the easiest way to have no idea what the fuck you're on about. So, when I was getting into this work, I hoped that Young had come across the histories of Black folks arming themselves post WWII, as well as had engaged with the parts of his present day community that saw the likes of George Zimmerman as evidence that no one was coming to save them, so it was best to prepare themselves accordingly. Young did all that and more, and after finishing this, I'd say that this is the single most candid thinkpiece focusing on an extremely controversial topic that actually managed to go the 'both sides' route without once devolving into unfeeling sophistry or bad faith selfishness. I'd even go so far as to recommend this to anyone who wants to get into the whole gun topic but doesn't know where to go or whom to risk pissing off first, as this book is short yet hard hitting enough to be worth one's time and was published recently enough to still be extremely relevant. It's not the book that's going to tell you the solution to school shootings, but it will give you incredible insight into the modern day matter, especially if you're white and thus are largely immune from being hunted in this homeland of mine for sport. Cause until you understand the true stakes of that, you're just going to be another useless tweet calling for prayers when the next massacre comes around.
This weekend is the one I aimed to get my life back on track during after a shitstorm of power outages and other sources of monumental stress, and finally getting this review out is part and parcel of that. Unfortunately, my reading journey as taken me to a juncture between at least three nonfiction pieces dealing with heavy topics (Holocaust denial and the Cultural Revolution being the other two), which along with the exigencies of real life hasn't boded well for my ability to compartmentalize. Still, it's worth noting that I haven't felt the slightest desire to downgrade my rating for this, as every time I come back to the task of reviewing my feelings of it, I remember how much I understood without belittling and how often I learned without double-thinking, and in this day and age, it's almost impossible to do so while AI is allowed to destroy our cultural faculties and warmongering is printed on every other news publication. What's left to do, then, is to keep piecing it together, keep talking to people, keep moving towards a place where those who would otherwise be murderously radicalized have a place to sleep and a healthline to hang on to, until the topic of guns isn't framed as us versus them, but us verses us. Sure, it's not as shiny as some gun control legislation shoved through the government pipeline. But in the age of 3D printed Glocks, you can't tell me that it's futile to focus on the human part of the equation.
March 24, 2019
R.J. Young is an Oklahoman, and seems to be active in sports commentary, but this is an interesting memoir of coming to terms with guns and the gun culture, as a black man. He fell in love with a white girl, and to bond with her father, became a gun owner, with all the reservations a young black man would have as a gun owner. He deftly combines research and current events as he navigates an alien world where most events and training sessions saw him as the only POC in the room.
He joins NRA, not to support their agenda, but to learn...to become an instructor. He takes the responsibility of gun ownership seriously, and he understands the heightened risks.
An important addition to any discussion of personal weapons and gun ownership.
He joins NRA, not to support their agenda, but to learn...to become an instructor. He takes the responsibility of gun ownership seriously, and he understands the heightened risks.
An important addition to any discussion of personal weapons and gun ownership.
August 17, 2025
3.5 stars. This was a relatively quick read about an important topic told through a personal lens. When Young, a Black man, marries a white woman with a gun-loving father, he resolves to learn everything he can about guns. This evolves from an initial goal to own and learn to shoot a gun to a desire to become the best shot at the range and skilled enough to be certified as an instructor. Yet Young never loses his horror at the idea of shooting someone, and he can never truly understand the gun-obsessed culture he finds himself in that is intimately entwined with conservative politics and casual racism.
I appreciated that Young told his own story alongside history and statistics about guns in the United States. I wish that his writing hadn't been so uneven; his transitions were sometimes awkward and I felt like he skimmed over some details that could have been valuable to include. I also thought it was odd that he waited until so late in the book to tell us about his mom, who actually has quite a lot in common with his father-in-law. I think this book is interesting as an introduction to gun culture; it works only somewhat well as a memoir, and I don't think it's likely to change most people's minds who already have a strong political stance regarding guns. But it's a quick read (under 200 pages) and so that pushes me to recommend it where I might otherwise be more ambivalent.
I appreciated that Young told his own story alongside history and statistics about guns in the United States. I wish that his writing hadn't been so uneven; his transitions were sometimes awkward and I felt like he skimmed over some details that could have been valuable to include. I also thought it was odd that he waited until so late in the book to tell us about his mom, who actually has quite a lot in common with his father-in-law. I think this book is interesting as an introduction to gun culture; it works only somewhat well as a memoir, and I don't think it's likely to change most people's minds who already have a strong political stance regarding guns. But it's a quick read (under 200 pages) and so that pushes me to recommend it where I might otherwise be more ambivalent.
January 17, 2019
This felt like more of an essay to me, which is fine but not what I expected. I felt it wasn't really cohesive and it was a little juvenile and flat. These topics are important, they need to be talked about, written about and screamed about, but I felt like they could be so much more powerful if presented differently. I felt the history and the personal aspects just did not flow together - reading, for me, was clunky (yep, so are these comments).
I could relate - these topics are discussed on a daily basis in my house. I also laughed a little at Lizzie's "But I'm white!" comment, where she made herself a victim. I'm a daily ear for my husband's truths and furies, but I understand that my husband is not talking directly about me, but also that I am white and have benefited from this fact my entire life so I'm part of this system that aggrieves my husband.
So, to sum it up, I think this is a fantastic idea for a book and there's a lot here - I just couldn't get over the presentation.
I could relate - these topics are discussed on a daily basis in my house. I also laughed a little at Lizzie's "But I'm white!" comment, where she made herself a victim. I'm a daily ear for my husband's truths and furies, but I understand that my husband is not talking directly about me, but also that I am white and have benefited from this fact my entire life so I'm part of this system that aggrieves my husband.
So, to sum it up, I think this is a fantastic idea for a book and there's a lot here - I just couldn't get over the presentation.
October 29, 2018
RJ Young’s experience as a black man in this country is one we need to acknowledge and understand. As he articulates, “you have to step into the fire with me. To feel that distress and pain and anguish.” He makes that painfully easy to do. He made me feel and think about things that at times made me uncomfortable, but as the author says, “the way forward is for you to feel uncomfortable.” I agree with him when he says we need to confront our racism and acknowledge our privilege and that we need to use that privilege to speak up. So, I am. RJ Young’s voice is one we all need to hear; not just hear but amplify.
December 19, 2018
He gets some basic facts wrong early on, and while they aren’t material to his bigger points about race and culture (which are quite meaningful), the sloppiness makes me wonder which of the facts were and were not adequately checked. Isn’t that what editors are for?
November 13, 2018
This really could have just been an essay vs an actual book. And it reads more as a memoir than an investigative journalism or ethnographic piece.
August 20, 2019
I found “Let It Bang” by RJ Young at the library. It’s a short memoir at around 165 pages with big typeface and lots of space between sentences. The book is about Young’s experience exploring gun culture as a black man and primarily set around his hometown Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Young enters his journey as a means to relate to his father-in-law, Charles, whose interest in guns is a major part of his identity. When Young actually began his journey is unclear. However, he specifies that when he goes to buy his first gun at a gun show he sees lots of MAGA gear on display. In the end, what he takes away is a better understanding of the semantics involved in gun ownership but he also validates many of his concerns about the culture throughout his journey.
The story is layered in three parts. The first is Young’s personal journey in which he buys a gun, learns how to shoot, and ultimately becomes an NRA certified instructor. Second, he describes his observations of those within gun culture, who are almost all white, and their reactions to him as a black man wanting to learn how to shoot. Lastly, he describes the realities of pro-gun rhetoric in the country by using crime and survey data.
Young tries to maintain a certain post-racial perspective — exemplified by his inter-racial relationship — but racism and racial identity constantly interrupt. He encounters blatant racism throughout his journey, but he also finds it embedded in the foundation of the political and cultural beliefs of the gun community. He observes many in the culture embracing, ignoring or acting oblivious to the racism. That’s demonstrated by patrons accusing him of “wanting to teach them to shoot back” and one of his instructors describing the scenario in which George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin as a positive example.
None is more damning that what he hears at a U.S. Law Shield seminar. The company pitches itself as a sort of self-defense insurance policy, but many see the service as nothing more than snake oil. Nonetheless, what they sell embodies the skewed views of gun culture. That violence is a solution to the problem of fear and the bar for how scared one must be before reacting is relatively low. The service goes a step further and suggests ways that it will contort already permissive self-defense laws to justify that fear.
After examining the engaging components of gun ownership and separating the facts and beliefs connected to it, Young never buys in to the pro-gun solutions. Instead, he finds that guns enable those who want to justify acting violently to their irrational fears. I found this to be a fascinating journey.
Young enters his journey as a means to relate to his father-in-law, Charles, whose interest in guns is a major part of his identity. When Young actually began his journey is unclear. However, he specifies that when he goes to buy his first gun at a gun show he sees lots of MAGA gear on display. In the end, what he takes away is a better understanding of the semantics involved in gun ownership but he also validates many of his concerns about the culture throughout his journey.
The story is layered in three parts. The first is Young’s personal journey in which he buys a gun, learns how to shoot, and ultimately becomes an NRA certified instructor. Second, he describes his observations of those within gun culture, who are almost all white, and their reactions to him as a black man wanting to learn how to shoot. Lastly, he describes the realities of pro-gun rhetoric in the country by using crime and survey data.
Young tries to maintain a certain post-racial perspective — exemplified by his inter-racial relationship — but racism and racial identity constantly interrupt. He encounters blatant racism throughout his journey, but he also finds it embedded in the foundation of the political and cultural beliefs of the gun community. He observes many in the culture embracing, ignoring or acting oblivious to the racism. That’s demonstrated by patrons accusing him of “wanting to teach them to shoot back” and one of his instructors describing the scenario in which George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin as a positive example.
None is more damning that what he hears at a U.S. Law Shield seminar. The company pitches itself as a sort of self-defense insurance policy, but many see the service as nothing more than snake oil. Nonetheless, what they sell embodies the skewed views of gun culture. That violence is a solution to the problem of fear and the bar for how scared one must be before reacting is relatively low. The service goes a step further and suggests ways that it will contort already permissive self-defense laws to justify that fear.
After examining the engaging components of gun ownership and separating the facts and beliefs connected to it, Young never buys in to the pro-gun solutions. Instead, he finds that guns enable those who want to justify acting violently to their irrational fears. I found this to be a fascinating journey.
January 9, 2019
Moving and difficult, RJ Young's book about his experiences as a black man navigating gun culture lends a little-heard perspective to our national debate about firearms, law, and use of force. The author is thoughtful and well-prepared with statistics about violence, who assaults and kills who and when, what the rates of firearm ownership and use are when they are available. He'd always avoided anything to do with guns until he needed a way to connect with his gun-loving white father-in-law. So he learned to shoot, and he was terrible, and he vowed he was going to get good enough that people wouldn't look funny at him for being the only black guy at the range. He followed through. But interspersed with his growing skill are his thoughts on how that skill relates to the challenges he faces from a racist society, his fears of police violence, the Terry stops, the casual, unthinking, hurtful rhetoric he encounters. My favorite parts of the book were in the complexities of the intersection between politics and the people he knows -- his Trump-supporting, truck driving, concealed-carrying mother, unconcerned that she's unusual for holding those political sentiments while black. The author is very liberal, but him using his NRA pistol instructor skills to help his mom become a better shot helps them to repair their relationship. But it's not always good -- his breakup with his wife and her family over the 2016 election was related, and not repairable. I felt for him, as I expect everyone who has argued with their family members over politics in the last few years would. He's entirely correct to highlight the racist nature and intent of many gun control initiatives, from Reconstruction to the Black Panthers, and that's an aspect of the discussion that often doesn't get much air time. He's also wise enough to think seriously about whether he could pull the trigger in self-defense, and decides that he couldn't. So he's not interested in concealed carry, because he's unwilling to kill. I respect that kind of considered self-awareness. My major unmet wish was that the book be twice as long -- I deeply appreciated the author's story, and would have like to hear more of it. (I heard the author participating in an online round table discussion about firearms, was impressed with his views, and found his book via that forum.)
August 26, 2019
RJ Young didn't know much about guns other than they could get him killed. As a black man RJ wanted to stay as far away from guns as possible. But, when he starts dating Lizzie, a white woman who's whole family is VERY into guns he decides to learn to shoot to get closer to his future father-in-law Charles. RJ buys his first handgun, gets his conceal carry license, attends his first gun show, and eventually becomes an NRA-certified pistol instructor. All the while navigating this new world as a black man. He encounters his share of racist comments and "jokes," but wants to prove to his in-laws and the gun world that he can not just learn, but excel at shooting. A very interesting look at the pro-gun world through the eyes of a black man.
Some quotes I liked:
"...the number of police shootings of blacks in that year - and certainly today - is nearly equal to the average number of black people who were lynched in this country at the height of 'separate but (un)equal.'" (p. 50)
"I was enduring the occasional quizzical look and snide comment from other [gun range] patrons too. The ones that stuck bit through to the marrow of who I am. Ain't you supposed to be shooting a basketball? and Hold it sideways, it's more your people's style were two of the less clever barbs along those lines." (p. 73-4)
[At the NRA instructor training class during a break] "...[a police officer taking the class] said, 'I know what you're doing.' 'I'm sorry?' [the police officer] looked irritated now. 'I know what you're doing. You're gonna teach them to shoot back.'" (p. 113)
"This apathy is the emotion I hate most. It makes me angriest and most fearful. If this man, intent on demonstrating to our class the importance of his services [U.S. Law Shield], chooses to make his case by citing an incident that half the country believes was a murder [Trayvon Martin being shot by George Zimmerman] - if he doesn't have the sensitivity to see me in the room and choose a different example, it shows that he doesn't believe I'm worth the effort. So why would anyone else who believes what he believes try to engage with me in a positive way? How do I begin a dialogue with a person like that? How do I convince him that my fears are real, and that he directly contributes to them?" (p. 120)
Some quotes I liked:
"...the number of police shootings of blacks in that year - and certainly today - is nearly equal to the average number of black people who were lynched in this country at the height of 'separate but (un)equal.'" (p. 50)
"I was enduring the occasional quizzical look and snide comment from other [gun range] patrons too. The ones that stuck bit through to the marrow of who I am. Ain't you supposed to be shooting a basketball? and Hold it sideways, it's more your people's style were two of the less clever barbs along those lines." (p. 73-4)
[At the NRA instructor training class during a break] "...[a police officer taking the class] said, 'I know what you're doing.' 'I'm sorry?' [the police officer] looked irritated now. 'I know what you're doing. You're gonna teach them to shoot back.'" (p. 113)
"This apathy is the emotion I hate most. It makes me angriest and most fearful. If this man, intent on demonstrating to our class the importance of his services [U.S. Law Shield], chooses to make his case by citing an incident that half the country believes was a murder [Trayvon Martin being shot by George Zimmerman] - if he doesn't have the sensitivity to see me in the room and choose a different example, it shows that he doesn't believe I'm worth the effort. So why would anyone else who believes what he believes try to engage with me in a positive way? How do I begin a dialogue with a person like that? How do I convince him that my fears are real, and that he directly contributes to them?" (p. 120)
August 6, 2024
Nothing here is going to be a particularly great shock to anyone with a working knowledge of both systemic racism against black Americans and American gun culture, but this is a digestible, well-written, funny-at-times, horrifying-at-others book that I bet serves as a great bridge for people with a firm grasp on one of those two topics to gain working literacy into the other.
Maybe the most enlightening part of the book for me was RJ's discussion with an attorney who represents clients who are in court for their use of a firearm, as a part of a sort of dubious network of self-defense legal aid. RJ presses the guy, this staunch believer that everyone has the right to a gun and to defend themselves and to present lethal force when just, that even the most measured, legally-sound, justifiable self-defense involving a gun, coming from a black man, will almost certainly escalate a situation, make the situation more dangerous, and be a difficult sell in court, simply by nature of personal and systemic racism, and the guy just doesn't have an answer at all other than to shrug and go "Maybe it'll go well, though!".
If you fundamentally believe having a firearm is a right, if not moral or safety imperative, of an American citizen, and you fundamentally believe that law enforcement in America is good or just, this is an unsolvable problem: someone (like Philando Castile) can do everything entirely right, be a good American citizen, and be killed on the spot. You imagine, or at least you hope, being confronted with this is capable of eroding the pillars of those erroneous beliefs, that either you start to question the ability of a firearm's mere presence to unnecessarily escalate a situation, or you start to realize that the justice system in this country is perverse in its treatment of non-white citizens. But, honestly, maybe you just dig in deeper into your cruelty, because you're just not willing to believe in a world where you might be shot dead by a cop who faces no jail time just because of who you are, despite the fact that this is a daily observance of literally millions of people. Who knows. This almost certainly won't be a silver bullet (heh) to change people's minds, but hopefully it will help.
Maybe the most enlightening part of the book for me was RJ's discussion with an attorney who represents clients who are in court for their use of a firearm, as a part of a sort of dubious network of self-defense legal aid. RJ presses the guy, this staunch believer that everyone has the right to a gun and to defend themselves and to present lethal force when just, that even the most measured, legally-sound, justifiable self-defense involving a gun, coming from a black man, will almost certainly escalate a situation, make the situation more dangerous, and be a difficult sell in court, simply by nature of personal and systemic racism, and the guy just doesn't have an answer at all other than to shrug and go "Maybe it'll go well, though!".
If you fundamentally believe having a firearm is a right, if not moral or safety imperative, of an American citizen, and you fundamentally believe that law enforcement in America is good or just, this is an unsolvable problem: someone (like Philando Castile) can do everything entirely right, be a good American citizen, and be killed on the spot. You imagine, or at least you hope, being confronted with this is capable of eroding the pillars of those erroneous beliefs, that either you start to question the ability of a firearm's mere presence to unnecessarily escalate a situation, or you start to realize that the justice system in this country is perverse in its treatment of non-white citizens. But, honestly, maybe you just dig in deeper into your cruelty, because you're just not willing to believe in a world where you might be shot dead by a cop who faces no jail time just because of who you are, despite the fact that this is a daily observance of literally millions of people. Who knows. This almost certainly won't be a silver bullet (heh) to change people's minds, but hopefully it will help.
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August 1, 2019Literary nonfiction / memoir. I felt it read a bit like longform journalism or an essay rather than a book, it’s quite short and several topics are brought up and then dropped. I found it interesting and the topic very important, and I read it in one sitting, but I wished there were a few more chapters to round out the narrative. There are several big ….I guess I could call them plot twists, even though this is nonfiction; near the end (related both to the author’s wife and birth family), and I wished there was more time spent on them. A lot of key information seemed only tangentially mentioned and I found myself going “wait, can I find out more about THAT?!” a bit too often. Still, I’d pick up another book by the author, and I especially appreciated the discussion of firearms legal service businesses, and also separately of Black firearms associations.
(Some reviews on Goodreads lament factual errors, but to me it seemed like a clearcut case of the text getting mangled in copyedits; I’m sure the author who’s a shooting instructor knows whether the hammer is cocked or not. That’s more on the publisher.)
Source of the book: Lawrence Public Library
Also on Bogi Reads the World: http://www.bogireadstheworld.com/smal...
(Some reviews on Goodreads lament factual errors, but to me it seemed like a clearcut case of the text getting mangled in copyedits; I’m sure the author who’s a shooting instructor knows whether the hammer is cocked or not. That’s more on the publisher.)
Source of the book: Lawrence Public Library
Also on Bogi Reads the World: http://www.bogireadstheworld.com/smal...
December 28, 2021
I really enjoyed this. It was interesting reading his perspective on guns and gun culture in America (which has many issues, one of them being there's quite a few racists). At times he got factual information wrong (a Glock is not entirely made is plastic except for the barrel as stated in the book, and he repeatedly referred to handgun rounds as "shells"), but there's really no arguing with his statistics and other research.
He lost me a bit when he decided that there was no point in carrying a firearm for self-defense and seemed to think there was no reason for anyone else to carry one either. This seemed to come from his idea that he is (statically and anecdotally) more at risk for legally carrying a firearm for self-defense than a white person which is a poor argument for saying that no one should be able to carry.
Regardless, I'd recommend reading this book to everyone who owns a gun, or like to shoot, to get a better understanding of a different point of view in gun culture. What he has to say is meaningful, insightful, and it is important.
Edit: There is apparently an audiobook and it is reportedly delightful and I am disappointed that I read this instead of listening to it.
He lost me a bit when he decided that there was no point in carrying a firearm for self-defense and seemed to think there was no reason for anyone else to carry one either. This seemed to come from his idea that he is (statically and anecdotally) more at risk for legally carrying a firearm for self-defense than a white person which is a poor argument for saying that no one should be able to carry.
Regardless, I'd recommend reading this book to everyone who owns a gun, or like to shoot, to get a better understanding of a different point of view in gun culture. What he has to say is meaningful, insightful, and it is important.
Edit: There is apparently an audiobook and it is reportedly delightful and I am disappointed that I read this instead of listening to it.
December 11, 2018
I started reading this book last night and woke up early morning to read some more and came back home from work and read some more and finished it. This was the book that gives me some perspective into our "surreally gun overwhelmed country". RJ brings the history of NRA and his visits to the gun range, interactions with his family through marriage and writes with kindness and understanding. Though, the subject matter is serious, his writing is simple, easy to read and has flashes of insight that stay with you. Like when he talks about Bertrand Russell teaching us that hope is born of misery- now, I want to go read Bertrand.
The one thing that will remain with me for a long time is his description of young black men being "othered" often and casually and at its worst the way it dehumanizes and devalues their life. The last part of the book also shows us how the election of November 2016 has pushed us back so far in time that the confederate army seems like yesterday. It is almost as if a carbuncle had popped out and pus has been streaming out of it. This is what the current onslaught of racism, sexism and lack of empathy for others feels like.
The one thing that will remain with me for a long time is his description of young black men being "othered" often and casually and at its worst the way it dehumanizes and devalues their life. The last part of the book also shows us how the election of November 2016 has pushed us back so far in time that the confederate army seems like yesterday. It is almost as if a carbuncle had popped out and pus has been streaming out of it. This is what the current onslaught of racism, sexism and lack of empathy for others feels like.
June 5, 2025
What Young has penned will disappoint many. It is not a partisan story about his own comeuppance in a white world. It is not a book preaching to Democrats or castigating Republicans about their gun porn. It doesn't wave the banner of Black Lives Matter as a matter of conscience. It refuses to drown the 2nd Amendment in moral snobbery nor does it let the liberal gun haters have the last word. It doesn't say much about interracial marriage other than the fact that R.J. had one. Simply, his story is about a negotiation. He loved a woman whose family fetishized and cherished guns. He tried to love guns for her sake and his. For a short time, the love affair with guns and Lizzie took hold of his heart and rendered ecstasy. And then he had to look in the mirror. He was still a black man in America.
- Valerie Morales
Read the full review at: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...
- Valerie Morales
Read the full review at: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...
December 29, 2018
So many people should read this, as it occurs at such a fraught intersection: guns and race. There's something for everyone in terms of challenging your preconceptions and your view of the current debate/fight about gun control/2nd-amendment rights.
Young has a great writing voice, both journalistically to the point and intimate. Whatever he is discussing, he brings it back to how these issues impact his daily existence and the potential to lose his life, as a black man in America, and makes these questions very immediate and real.
Read this if you're not black. Read this if you've never even held a gun. Read this if you think gun control is a bunch of codswallop. We could do a lot better as a country if we could dialogue around all the nuances and intersections touched on by this book.
Young has a great writing voice, both journalistically to the point and intimate. Whatever he is discussing, he brings it back to how these issues impact his daily existence and the potential to lose his life, as a black man in America, and makes these questions very immediate and real.
Read this if you're not black. Read this if you've never even held a gun. Read this if you think gun control is a bunch of codswallop. We could do a lot better as a country if we could dialogue around all the nuances and intersections touched on by this book.
December 23, 2018
This book took me by surprise. It was definitely not what I expected, and that's a good thing. In it, RJ Young shares how he decided to learn to shoot a gun. He also explores the divide between gun owners who are white and black. I learned a lot about how black people view firearms and how they are treated by law enforcement and the general public. Because of this book, I gained a different perspective and am better equipped to share the truth as I advocate for equal treatment for all Americans, regardless of color, appearance, gender, etc. I did not appreciate the cursing but otherwise recommend this thoughtful book for anyone who's interested in gun ownership, second amendment rights or race issues.
November 9, 2020
I appreciate this author's candid account of his experiences. There are some technical errors that belie a lesser understanding of firearms than he represents to the reader. He is also mistaken in some of his legal and historical claims.
With those shortcomings aside, though, I learned a lot from this book: not about guns or gun culture, but about how they are viewed through the eyes of one black man in 21st Century America. I am glad I read this book.
Bottom line: I think this book is useful for members of the gun culture who are sincerely trying to understand how some folks view guns and gun owners, especially through the lens of American attitudes about racism. I think the book is less useful for teaching people about guns and gun culture.
With those shortcomings aside, though, I learned a lot from this book: not about guns or gun culture, but about how they are viewed through the eyes of one black man in 21st Century America. I am glad I read this book.
Bottom line: I think this book is useful for members of the gun culture who are sincerely trying to understand how some folks view guns and gun owners, especially through the lens of American attitudes about racism. I think the book is less useful for teaching people about guns and gun culture.
January 28, 2019
Engaging writing and insightful perspective, but felt more like a long essay than a deep dive into the topic. I wanted to know so much more about how his relationship with his in-laws evolved, examining the two main facets of shooting (competitive skill as a marksman vs. ability to kill others to defend yourself), his thought process on realizing he'd never shoot a person, more on the way white Americans project violence onto Black men, etc. Young clearly has a lot to say about these profoundly important topics, but this book just skims the surface. I would read so much more from him; I hope he writes a follow-up.
March 21, 2019
A lot of readers seem disappointed that this reads like a long personal essay rather than an investigative deep dive. I don't know what about 150 small pages about one person's own experience would lead you to expect that, but as a story of personal pain and society's indifference toward it, this is a compelling and excellent read. Deeply personal and conflicted, the prose hurries along and is over sooner than you'll expect--and this is a great thing, because after this book you the reader should embark on your own investigative deep dive to get more of the story of guns and black Americans. Young teases you with the conclusions and invites you to learn more, so do it.
February 10, 2019
To be honest, I wasn't going to read this one. Not because it's about guns but because of his motivation for his odyssey. But different strokes for different folks and his personal motivation is valid.
This book is worth taking a look at. It's an easy read about a complex issue. RJ takes a personal journey and has a practical attitude towards the subject of guns. He looks at the pro and con of guns. The Black and White and Blue of guns.
It's a quick, interesting, and easy to read look at guns and a Black man.
This book is worth taking a look at. It's an easy read about a complex issue. RJ takes a personal journey and has a practical attitude towards the subject of guns. He looks at the pro and con of guns. The Black and White and Blue of guns.
It's a quick, interesting, and easy to read look at guns and a Black man.
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